Seed of Titan-Chapter 208: Can Time Heal?

Outside a treatment room in the military hospital, Drai, Danny, Beachball, Cubes, and Mandy stood along the wall. The hospital was particularly busy this afternoon due to the explosion earlier, with medics and other military personnel rushing all over the place.

As the squad silently watched the commotion around them, a familiar face appeared down the hallway they were in.

"How is he?" Ailem straightly asked the group upon arriving.

While the rest spiritlessly mumbled something along the lines of "We don’t know", Mandy calmly said, "He’s currently being treated. I believe it will be over shortly—why not wait with us, Captain?"

Ailem nodded in reply. She then walked to the end of the row and leaned on the wall right next to Drai.

"From what I’ve heard, you’ve adjusted quite well to military life and your squadmates," she remarked.

"Yeah, it’s been going alright until today," Drai said as he glanced at the one-eyed captain that was giving him a sympathetic look.

"The preliminary report says you managed to capture the person massacring our troops on the field. That’s a rather impressive feat for someone who’s only been here less than a week. It’ll definitely hasten your rank-up."

Drai merely shrugged in response. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about promotions and whatnot, and it wasn’t like he was interested in such matters in the first place.

Ailem also seemed to notice this, as she quickly changed the topic by asking, "Have you heard from the General again?"

"No."

"Well, his faction is busy preparing for the upcoming election, and he’s also preoccupied with additional matters related to the arrangement between you two."

Hearing this, Drai finally turned his head to Ailem and asked, "Do you know how the operation’s going?"

"What operation?"

"The one related to my parents and Professor Ravi."

"I know nothing of that. Is it part of your arrangement with the General?"

"Oh—I thought you knew about it. Sorry, just pretend I never mentioned that," Drai said. He thought that the less people knew about this operation, the better. After all, the Crimson Order might have ears in the army.

"Sure," Ailem quickly replied as she could sense Drai’s unease. She then continued, "By the way, if you’re thinking of contacting the General, expect a delayed reply. After today’s incidents, he’ll only be getting busier."

"No, I won’t be pestering him. I trust that he’ll keep his words."

Ailem gave him an approving nod before glancing at the treatment room’s door that still hadn’t opened.

"By the way, Lieutenant Blaise hasn’t been bothering you, has he?" she suddenly mentioned.

"No. Is he really the kind of guy who likes to trouble new recruits?" Drai asked, a bit perplexed by the notion.

"He isn’t, but he can be pretty bothersome to the General’s special recruits such as you and Danny. Well, maybe Danny’s the reason he never paid you a visit."

Seeing Drai’s curious stare, Ailem chuckled and said, "There has been more than one occasion where Lieutenant Blaise’s face was almost cut apart by Danny’s thrown blades, so now the Lieutenant is always extra careful that he doesn’t stay longer than needed around Danny."

After glancing at the man in question who was being unusually quiet, Drai asked, "How did he even get away with attacking his superior?"

"Well, Danny’s excuse was that he somehow becomes extremely nervous whenever Lieutenant Blaise is around and his palms get extra sweaty, causing his weapons to slip out from his hands."

"But why did he have his blades out in the first place?" Drai pressed, still thinking that such a blatant assault should’ve landed Danny a heavy punishment.

"He said that practicing his moves is how he usually gets rid of his nervousness."

Letting out a chuckle, Drai then said, "I didn’t realize Danny’s pretty creative with bullshitting. But Captain, shouldn’t you have sensed that with that skill of yours?"

"Well, I know what the truth is, but I’m not obliged to report it to Lieutenant Blaise, am I?" Ailem replied with a smirk.

At that moment, they heard the nearby door opening, and a woman in green medical clothes came out from the treatment room.

The squad immediately surrounded her and barraged her with questions.

"Guys, let the healer breathe first—she must be spent," Ailem advised from behind, quieting the others as they stepped back, leaving some breathing room for the woman, who nodded appreciatively at Ailem.

Shortly after, the healer began speaking, "Sergeant Harr’s condition has stabilized, though it is far from ideal. His deeper inner injuries aren’t fully healed yet, and although we’ve treated the intracranial hematoma and cerebral contusion, the Sergeant will remain unconscious for a while. Such severe head injuries may also leave lasting effects on the Sergeant, so we can only hope for the best. We should count ourselves lucky that he actually survived because of his defensive skill, unlike the rest. Now, if you’ll excuse me—I’m urgently required elsewhere."

As the healer opened the door again to speak with the other staff, the squad got a glimpse of their leader, who was currently lying still on a medical table, riddled with numerous tubes and cables connected to various equipment. This sorry sight was eventually cut short when the healer finally closed the door and left in a hurry.

"They say time heals, but can it really heal Frost?" Danny suddenly turned poetic as he looked at the shut door before him.

A gentle spank on his butt pulled his gaze away, and it landed on a solemn-looking Beachball who gently squeaked, "Let’s go home, Danny."

Danny took a last sad glance at the room housing their leader before nodding weakly. The pair then walked away in silence, followed immediately by the others—except for Drai, whose steps were abruptly stopped by a grab on his shoulder.

"I know it’s a bad time for you, but you need to follow me," Ailem said.

"...Where?" Drai sighed.

"Central Command. The colonels are waiting for you."

***

Moments later, Drai and Ailem were standing in front of an imposing building.

’So this is Central Command...’ Drai inwardly muttered as he eyed the grandiose structure.

From the hospital earlier, Ailem led him to a military jeep that took them for a short drive deeper into the facility, passing through areas that Drai had never visited before. Unlike the buildings in the outer areas of the base, the ones here were way larger and sparser, seemingly signifying their importance. The traffic in the inner area was also less crowded, and the vehicles passing by them were mostly those commonly deployed to transport high-ranked officers.

"Come on," Ailem beckoned as she made her way into the building.

After passing by a series of security checkpoints, the two finally arrived at a pair of large doors.

As her hand touched the door, Ailem turned to Drai and sternly said, "From this point on, please mind your speech and manners, Drai. I won’t be able to help you much if you end up offending any of the colonels."

After getting a firm nod from Drai, Ailem finally pushed the door open and walked in.

As Drai followed behind her, his impassive look instantly changed the moment he entered the large chamber, as he had to grit his teeth and tense his muscles to not get overwhelmed by the onslaught of oppressive aura that was crashing onto him.

"Proceed to the central seat, young man," boomed a deep voice, following which Ailem nudged Drai while gesturing at a lone chair in the center of the room.

Walking behind Ailem, Drai steadily made his way to his designated spot under the gazes and murmurs of the colonels. He noticed that they were seated in three ascending rows facing him. Drai reckoned there were at least twenty of them, but he couldn’t be that sure since he was trying his best not to directly look at them. There were also a number of other people sitting at the sides, but their presence were completely drown by those of the colonels’ that Drai barely even noticed them.

"I need to go to my seat. Keep calm, and good luck, Drai," Ailem suddenly said before walking away to the side, leaving Drai to proceed alone.

’What does she mean by ’good luck’? Aren’t I just here for a report?’ Drai silently questioned as he made his way to the center, still weathering the intangible pressure coming from the front.

When Drai finally took his seat, his eyes caught flashing glints coming from the seats he was facing, and almost immediately, several metal stakes appeared in the air around him and wrapped tightly around his body.

Drai almost blurted "What the fuck?!" in reflex, but Ailem’s earlier words of caution managed to keep him from doing so.

"You’re being overboard, Lugos," the deep voice from earlier said, which Drai now could see was coming from the person seated at the center of the lowest row, a large and bald black man. The man’s appearance surprised Drai a little, since people with such dark skin were rarely found in Rivideria.

"I’m not," said another voice from the top row, prompting Drai to move his gaze there.

Again, he was pretty surprised by the speaker’s appearance, but this time it was not due to his skin color but because of his face and demeanor. In Drai’s eyes, the man resembled an older version of Frost.

And what the man said next seemed to confirm Drai’s suspicion.

"If this guy is really the cause of my son’s predicament, we can’t have him escape."

Sighing, the black man then asked Drai, "Are you fine with being restrained like that, young man?"

"Yes, it doesn’t hurt," Drai admitted.

"Very well. I, Colonel Marteen Godspower, as the appointed head of these proceedings, hereby declare them officially underway."

Marteen then turned serious as he said, "Private Drai Varz, you are suspected to be involved in the two fatal incidents today. What say you?"